Top lift trimmer



April :2, 1957 F. AMICO 2,787,012

TOP LIFT TRIMMER Filed Jun 11, 1956 INVENTOR. FRANK AMIGO ATTORNEY fi United States Patent TOP LIFT TRININIER Frank Amico, Rochester, N. Y.

Application June 11, 1956, Serial No. 590,434 3 Claims. (oi. 17,-103) This invention relates to a novel cutting tool. More specifically, the invention relates to a device which is particularly useful in trimming the top lifts on high-heeled shoes.

In conventional shoe repairing practice, the small, rough blank for a top lift is usually nailed to a Womans shoe heel, and the rough blank is then trimmed to size with a knife. Thereafter, the trimmed blank is buffed down with a machine so that there is a close correspondence in size between the top lift and the heel. In the finished article, the top lift desirably appears to be a continuation of the heel, so closely does it conform to the heel in size and shape.

The trimming operation has always been troublesome. Occasionally, a slip of the knife during the trimming operation has split the heel entirely, thus requiring an expensive repairing operation. The heels, which are usually made of wood, tend to be brittle, and split easily. Furthermore, the use of a knife is hard on the hands of the repair man, and represents a safety hazard. In addition, the knife trimming operation is slow, time-consuming, adds considerably to the cost of the repair work, and since it is rough, leaves considerable stock on to be removed by bufling, which further adds to the costs.

An object of the present invention is to provide a trim ming device for trimming the rough blank of the top lift neatly, expeditiously, and safely, before it is buffed with a machine.

Further objects of the invention are to provide a trimming device which will permit closer trimming of the top lift blank, without danger of splitting the wood heel, with ease of use on the part of the repairman, and without the hazards which are associated with the use of a sharp knife.

Another object of the invention is to provide a trimming device which will permit extremely close trimming of the top lift blank, thereby simplifying the subsequent machine buffing operation, while at the same time reducing the amount of time required for the trimming operation.

These and other objects of the invention are accomplished by a device generally similar to a pair of pliers, but comprising a knife and a table, and a pair of levers movable about a pivot pin, through which a force may be applied with mechanical advantage to the knife'and table. The knife and table are so disposed as to operate in planes which are at right angles to the plane of relative arcuate movement of the levers. The knife blade is also so disposed with respect to the table that a beveled trim on the top lift is obtained. A ledge is disposed across the table immediately under the cutting edge of the knife for good scission. The work is interposed between the knife and table, and a guard portion of the knife maintains the heel at the desired distance from the cutting edge. The cutting edge of the knife blade is protected by a cushion mounted on one lever which abuts against a bearing surface on the other lever and prevents direct contact between the knife edge and the table bed, so that undue wear on the cutting edge of the knife blade is prevented. Thus, the cutting edge contacts only the material which is being trimmed, and not the bed of the table.

2,787,012 7 l atented Apr. 2, 1957 ice The invention may be more readily understood by reference to the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a side elevational view of the novel trimming device;

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of this trimming device; I

Fig. 3 is a rear elevational view of this trimming device;

Fig. 4 is a partial side elevational view showing the trimming device in operation; and

Fig. 5 is a side elevational view of a modified form of the trimming device.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, the trimming device consists of a front lever 11 and a rear lever 12, both pivoted about a common pivot pin 13 disposed adjacent the cutting head of the device. These two levers are normally spring-biased outwardly away from each other by a spring 14 secured in any convenient manner to the rear lever 12 along the shank 15 thereof, and to the front lever 13 adjacent the cutting head portion 17 thereof, as illustrated.

In a simple and preferred form of the trimming device, the knife blade 18 is an integral extension of the cutting head portion 17 of the front lever 11. A sharpened cutting edge 19 is provided on the knife blade 18.

Opposing the cutting edge 1?, there is a table 20 on which the work is normally supported during the trimming operation. This table is carried by and is preferably integral with the rear lever 12. A ledge 21 is disposed across the table 20 dividing the table into an upper bed 9 and a lower bed 10. The work is supported on the upper bed 9, while the ledge 21 cooperates with the cutting edge 19 for clean scission. 1

As illustrated in Fig. 4, when the knife blade 18 is in its depressed position, the cutting edge 19 occupies an intermediate position in the height of the ledge 21. A scissors effect is obtained as the cutting edge 19 is moved downwardly toward the lower bed 10 of the table, along the ledge 21. The knife blade 18 is so disposed on the cutting head portion 17 of the front lever that the rounded portion 25 of the head 17 engages the wooden heel 23 and lies in a substantially parallel position to the surface thereof. 5

The life of the cutting edge 19 is prolonged considerably by arranging the downward sweep of the knife blade 18 so that a contact surface 22 bears against the ledge 21. Thus, as the knife blade 18 is lowered, the contact surface 22 desirably makes contact with the ledge 21 in such a fashion that the cutting edge 19 is suspended above the underlying surface of the table 20. After the contact sur face 22 engages the ledge 21, the application of pressure to the levers 11 and 12 serves only to deflect the knife blade 18 inwardly, thereby absorbing the applied pressure. This prevents unnecessary dulling of the cutting edge 19 by the direct application of pressure on the cutting edge against the hard surface of the lower bed 10 of the table.

As best shown in Fig. 4, after the rough blank for the top lift has been secured by nailing and gluing to the heel, it may be trimmed with the trimming device. The top lift 24 is seated on the upper bed 9 of the table 20, with the ledge 21 being positioned approximately on the line on which cutting is desired. Then, as the levers 11 and 12, respectively, are moved together, and the cutting blade 18 is moved downwardly, the cutting edge 19 is caused to follow a curved path outwardly with respect to the top lift 24, so that an outwardly beveled cut 26 is obtained. The trimmed portions 27 of the top lift blank fall freely away from the top lift and may be discarded. The movement of the cutting edge 19 past the ledge 21 on the table 20 causes a clean severance of the material, free from shredding and loose fibers.

This trimming operation is repeated serially around the entire periphery of the heel 23 until the whole marginal edge thereof is trimmed as closely as desired to the heel. Thetop lift is then buffed down on a machine to-make it uniform in contour and size with the heel, in all directions.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the engagement between the shoulder 28 of the rear lever 12 and the corresponding abutting portion 29 of the front lever 11 is desirably cushioned by a leather pad 31, or similar compressible material, for convenience and comfort during use of the trimmer. The pad 31 not only functions as a cushion, it also is desirably just sufliciently thick so that as the contact surface 22 of the knife blade engages the ledge 21, the shoulder 28 of the rear lever 12 makes contact with the pad 31, and compression of the pad is required for further downward movement of the knife blade.

The spring 14 normally urges the knife blade 18 away from the table 20. Thus, during the movement of the knife blade 18 downwardly during the cutting operation, the spring 14 is placed under tension, and tends to spring the levers 11 and 12 respectively apart when pressure is released.

In Figs. 1 through 4, there has been illustrated a single preferred embodiment of the invention. However, it will be understood that many other modifications may be made in this invention which are within the skill of the art and within the spirit of the invention. For example, as illustrated in Figs. 1 through 4, the two levers 11 and 12 respectively may be provided with an additional aperture 32 in the cutting head thereof, to provide an alternate position for the pivot pin 13. This is a conventional expedient for altering the mechanical advantage slightly, and may be advantageously employed in this invention for control over the angle at which the beveled edge 26 on the top lift is cut. In addition, different sized gaps between the cutting edge and table are provided, for the accommodation of stock of different sizes.

As shown in Fig. 5, in an alternate form of the invention, the knife blade 18 is replaceable, so that when the cutting edge 19 has become dull through usage, a new knife blade may be substituted for the dulled blade with no loss in time and usage of the trimmer while a new cutting edge is provided. The replaceable blade 18' is secured on the cutting head 17' by a pair of countersunk screw fasteners 33 passing through the blade and into corresponding threaded holes in the cutting head 17. To position the replaceable blade 18 on the cutting head 17, one or more guide pins 34 may be used which extend from the blade into a complementary recess or recesses, respectively, in the cutting head. The guide pins 34 also relieve the screw fasteners 33 of the stress normally transferred thereto during cutting.

While the invention has been described in connection with a specific embodiment thereof, it will be understood that it is capable of further modifications, and this application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention following, in general, the principles of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which the invention pertains and as may be applied to the essential features hereinbefore set forth, and as fall within the scope of the invention or the limits of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

l. A device for trimming the rough blank of a top lift when said rough blank is secured on the heel of a highheeled shoe, comprising a pair of levers pivotally secured together for the application of force at a mechanical advantage, a cutting head mounted on a first one of said levers, and a table mounted on the second of said levers at a right angle to the plane in which the pivotal movement of said levers takes place, said table being divided by a ledge into an upper bed and a lower bed, said upper 4 bed being adapted to support said rough blank during the trimming operation, said cutting head including a blade having a flat portion and a cutting edge at one end of said flat portion, the fiat portion of said blade being adapted to engage against said heel during the trimming operation and to move substantially parallel thereto, said movement of said blade carrying the cutting edge into juxtaposition with said ledge whereby a severing action is obtained between said blades andsaid ledge, the flat portion of said blade being adapted to engage and abut against said ledge following said severing action to resist further downward movement of said cutting edge to minimize direct contact between said cutting edge and the surface of said lower bed.

2. A device for trimming the rough blank of a top lift when said rough blank is secured on the heel of a shoe, comprising a pair of levers pivotally secured together for the application of force at a mechanical advantage, a cutting head mounted on a first one of said levers, and a table mounted on the second of said levers at a right angle to the plane in which the pivotal movement of said levers takes place, spring means interposed between said levers constantly urging said cutting head to a position spaced from said table, said table being divided by a ledge into an upper bed and a lower bed, said upper bed being adapted to support said rough blank during the trimming operation, said cutting head including a blade having a cutting edge at one end thereof, said blade being adapted to engage against said heel during the trimming operation and to move substantially parallel thereto, said movement of said blade carrying the cutting edge into juxtaposition with said ledge whereby a severing action is obtained between said blade and said ledge, said blade including a contact surface adapted to engage and abut against said ledge following said severing action to resist further downward movement of said cutting edge to minimize direct contact between said cutting edge and the surface of said lower bed.

3. A device for trimming the rough blank of a top lift when said rough blank is secured on the heel of a shoe, comprising a pair of levers pivotally secured together for the application of force at a mechanical advantage, a cutting head mounted on a first one of said levers, and a table mounted on the second of said levers at a right angle to the plane in which the pivotal movement of said levers takes place, said table being divided by a ledge into an upper bed and a lower bed, said upper bed being adapted to support said rough blank during the trimming operation, said cutting head including a blade having a cutting edge at one end, said blade being adapted to engage against said heel during the trimming operation and to move substantially parallel thereto, said movement of said blade carrying the cutting edge into juxtaposition with said ledge whereby a severing action is obtained between said blade and said ledge, said blade including a contact surface adapted to engage and abut against said ledge following said severing action, and a cushion member of limited resilience interposed between said levers to limit movement thereof toward one another and mounted to be engaged approximately simultaneously with the engagement of said contact surface against said ledge, said cushion member and the engagement between said contact surface and said ledge combining to resist further downward movement of said cutting edge to minimize direct contact between said cutting edge and the surface of said lower bed.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 180,731 Rogers Aug. 8, 1876 338,400 Glock et al Mar. 23, 1886 403,105 Haussmann May 14, 1889 542,027 Purinton s July 2, 1895 1,363,164 Oesterwitz Dec. 21, 1920 

